In the past years, car manufacturers have introduced more and more Information Technology into cars. More and more functions, traditionally implemented in hardware, can now be implemented with more flexibility using software programs. The engine, the brakes, the traction, the positioning system, and even the driver himself can be controlled by embedded software. A typical mid-range car has nowadays 70 or more of its functions driven by Electronic Control Units, all of them together running millions of lines of code. Bugs are one of the inherent characteristics of software. Manufacturers are under pressure to reduce the development cycle of cars. This inevitably results in insufficient testing of embedded software, and delivery of software which may still have some problems. The update and modification of embedded software is therefore more and more frequent and critical. Since software is now handling vital components, there is clearly a security exposure. This is also an exposure in term of after sales cost, because recalling large numbers of cars in order to update software under warranty is very expensive and degrades the credibility of the car manufacturer in the public's mind. Furthermore it is quite detrimental to the image of a manufacturer when cars are recalled and the recall is publicized in the public media.
In addition, car manufacturers are considering adding new optional software to cars for new added value functions. Soon it will be possible for drivers to have access to a portal managed by the car manufacturer and from this portal, to select (purchase) software options (for instance navigation functions, closest points of interest, closest hotels and restaurants, voice recognition, active cruise control, etc.), and transfer these selected software options to their car. It can also be envisioned that the success of the widely spread peer-to-peer networks, from where people download music, videos and software, will cause the emergence of peer-to-peer data networks between cars.
The consequence of the quick emergence of embedded software in cars is increasing the need for a mechanism for car manufacturers and third parties, to be able to transfer software and data to cars at any location, for example, parked, on the road, in urban areas, or in the countryside.
Today, car manufacturers still recall cars for critical software updates, and are performing “silent” updates during regular car repair and maintenance operations for minor software changes. An obvious problem with this approach is the cost:                for the car manufacturers, because the dealers must be reimbursed for the time spent to update the cars;        for the car dealers, who lose time on these low profit margin operations, and may have to provide replacement cars;        for the consumers, who lose time and use of the car.        
The problem of car recall costs clearly implies a need for a software mechanism that can directly update software in cars, “in place”, without recalls.
Moreover, the process of recalling cars may become much more difficult in the near future. Car dealers will have the ability to sell cars from different car manufacturers. Car dealers flooded by software updates from many car manufacturers will not be able to orderly manage the updates. Direct communication between car manufacturers and cars is complicated when car dealers must distribute and update software. Car manufacturers are considering setting up Telematics services in order to communicate directly with cars. The problem encountered is a lack of appropriate networking infrastructure to reach cars in many various diverse locations:                GSM and GPRS have a good coverage, but are expensive and have a low throughput, UMTS is not perfected and will be expensive,        Wifi has a good throughput, but a relatively short range and is expensive to deploy everywhere.        
The ideal solution would be a pervasive network, with a light infrastructure being inexpensive for both car manufacturers and car owners.